The Paper Jam Luigiverse
by IronChainDragon
Summary: A role reversal AU that actually diverged somewhat earlier. Paper Luigi finds himself at the tutorial area. Paper Mario is nowhere in sight. It should be fine. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
1. First Impressions

Daichi: I have read several role reversals. The idea is generally something fascinating. So, I welcome you to the Paper Jam Luigiverse! There are a few earlier points of divergence for both worlds involved, but the biggest point is that, during Paper Jam, Paper Luigi is the one who arrives at the end of the tutorial, and has Mr. L in his head, because it's fun to think about and generally ends up being funny. Not that Paper Mario isn't important, he'll eventually arrive.

Verity: We don't own the main franchise, certainly. And others have probably had similar ideas, so-

Daichi:-Where was I? Anyway, this will not be in chronological order, so to support new ideas. Anyway, it's time to begin.

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He had no clue where he was. The world seemed different, somehow, but also familiar. It was disorienting, but that didn't really bother him. It was sort of like when his brother would flip... where was Mario?

He sat up quickly, wincing at the bright light. After his eyes adjusted, he confirmed his suspicions. Whatever this place was, getting here had flipped him into 3D. There was also nobody else in sight.

So, he needed a plan. Ideally one that involved getting home. There was just one problem with that.

 _'You have no idea what you're doing.'_ That. He ignored the voice in his head. That was the default response, and mostly it was the correct one.

There was a commotion in one direction. Well, it was as good of a clue as any.

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One of them looked like him. Sort of. This one looked like he belonged in this place. He seemed more confident, too. And the other... that was his Big Bro.

 _'It's not him.'_ He knew that, just... it wasn't him, but at the same time, it was! _'That makes no sense and you know it.'_ The voice went ignored yet again.

Those two... they were at a disadvantage. He didn't want them to lose. He had to help. He wasn't particularly strong, but there had to be something he could do, anything!

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The floating yellow ball was called Starlow. The other two were the him and his brother of this world. That was fine. Starlow asked if there was anything they could call him in particular.

 _'You can use my name. Nobody would care. Most people don't even realize I exist.'_ No, he wasn't doing that.

This world was entirely three-dimensional, something that was new to him. In comparison, he felt flat, like... paper.

"You can call me Paper Luigi." And that was how a grand adventure began.

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Daichi: These things will be short, but hopefully catch the universe fairly well.


	2. Voices

Daichi: This mostly takes place pre-Paper Jam.

Verity: We don't own the franchise, as our hostile takeover failed. Miserably.

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Ever since the summer, he had heard the voices in his dreams. Not just since summer, since fighting the spirit of the Dream Stone and his giant robot. The voices had helped him, then. There was a Luiginoid assigned to each of them.

He wasn't sure what the voices were. Whether they were parts of his own subconscious, or voices of other Luigi's beyond time and space, or a mixture of the two, the things they said were entirely correct, or at least, they had been, at some point. Almost of them were true even now. As the voices lost the points they'd proven, they'd fade, and be replaced by others.

One of the voices, however, would never fade. It told him one thing that he would always take to heart.

 _'Help Big Bro!'_ And he would. No matter what.

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When he'd explored Dream's Deep, he'd heard the voices. And he never forgot. How could he? Every other thing the voices said, they had mentioned him. He had never imagined that his little brother, who could put up such a fuss when the time came to rescue the princess again, didn't actually want to be left behind. He had only stopped asking because he kept getting 'no' for an answer. Although... if he asked now, would he get a positive answer?

Yes. He would.

Of the entire experience, the ending had been the one he'd remember forever. All of the voices had merged together, and told him one thing.

 _'We're all here for you, Bro. Always.'_

And he'd do the same. Forever.

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The voice was something to be ignored, and maybe it would go away. He kept telling himself that. It never came true, as much as he could live without the thinly veiled insults towards himself and his friends.

Time passed, and he eventually had to admit to himself that the voice wasn't going away. If anything, it was louder, most likely annoyed at being ignored. So he got used to it. He grew accustomed to the mocking and idle threats, and the voice became a part of his life, if one he could certainly do without.

One day, the voice said something that wasn't hurtful. _'I have a name.'_

There was nobody nearby, so he felt it was safe to speak out loud. "So, what is it?"

A moment of blissful silence, before the voice spoke again. _'_ _Mr. L.'_

Mr. L proceeded to call him an idiot. He went ignored.

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Waking up to find yourself camping out in someone else's brain is not a fun situation. So, when learning of his new living conditions, Mr. L was not pleased. And considering what he had been waking up from, that just made things worse.

He needed to satiate his boredom somehow, so he started with small insults. He was ignored. He knew he was heard, just that the other didn't think it was worth a response.

The other was named Luigi, and he was the man in red's twin brother. Learning that did not help his mood at all. He won a bet, but had no way to collect his reward. He saw his acquaintances again, but couldn't say anything to show he was there.

He voiced none of that.

Luigi didn't know he was the one who stopped Dimentio from casually annihilating his personality along with his free will. He'd never tell him, either.

Eventually, he began to feel slightly less bitter. The insults didn't flow quite so easily anymore. He decided to introduce himself properly.

For just one moment, he was acknowledged.

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Daichi: The POV characters are, in order: Luigi, Mario, Paper Luigi, and Mr. L. Just for those who didn't quite get it the first time.


	3. Reflections

Daichi: This takes place sometime in the early game.

Verity: We don't own any of this.

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It had been a long time since Paper Luigi went on a proper adventure. Getting into the swing of things wasn't that easy, especially when things weren't even in their proper dimensions. The fact that he had a total of two previous adventures to his name, and that neither of them had been all that great, didn't help.

He had taken a bit of time to properly adjust, to figure out this new world, but there were things he couldn't quite understand. He quickly realized that there were more differences than he'd previously thought. That realization was never far away, in the form of his counterpart.

Slight differences, like how Mario was more talkative, he could understand. But his counterpart was so different from himself it was impossible to reconcile the adventurer he was traveling with and himself as being any form of the same person.

 _'I see a similarity. You're both idiots.'_ Ignoring Mr. L, he sat down at the edge of the campsite, watching the fire that Mario had lit as it flickered. _'Honestly, you're fine with them having powers you don't, but suddenly, someone turns out to have a lick of courage and it's impossible to think about. How does that make any sense?'_

If he thought logically? It didn't, not really. But he wasn't about to admit that the voice was right.

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It had been a long time since Luigi last turned down an adventure. It was a familiar rhythm that he fell into, with Mario just ahead and Starlow's assistance and the princess inevitably getting kidnapped along the way. It felt right.

There was a difference to the adventure this time around. Another adventurer. His counterpart was so much like him, in so many ways, that it would have been surreal to someone who hadn't experienced the same thing, or something similar, so many times before.

Paper Luigi didn't have the same electric essence that he did, or the instincts that came about with years of experience. Still, the line differentiating the two was thin, even if it seemed wider at first glance.

Part of what helped the distinction was time. There were still his detractors, but these days, even if a number couldn't remember his name, they couldn't remember his failings as easily as they had before. The passage of time had dulled those memories, and maybe, with more time, they might start taking note of his accomplishments.

He hadn't forgotten, though. He'd learned to put his fears out of the way, to take caution without letting on that he was afraid. It was a sort of mask, and he wore it well, but he still understood fear. Luigi could tell that Paper Luigi was afraid, if not for himself, than for the missing Paper Mario.

It might have been more accurate to compare Paper Luigi to himself about three years in the past, but some feelings were impossible to forget. Nobody knew where Paper Mario was, and Paper Luigi was scared of something happening to him. Luigi could sympathize.

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They were like two sides of a mirror, but the reflection wasn't perfect. Still, neither would voice that thought, simply waiting for the dawn to come.

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Daichi: Of the main characters, I think that these two are the most different, but at the same time, they have more in common than one might think. They just developed in opposite directions.


	4. Empty Eyes

Daichi: There's a lot of exposition in this one, purely so I can actually show humor elements later. It also starts before Paper Jam, but there's a timeskip.

Vee-Vee: She doesn't own these things, why do people keep asking?

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When Nastasia brainwashed something, their eyes lost all color. He didn't know how he knew this, but he did. Mr. L didn't make a habit of looking them in the eyes.

For a similar reason, he avoided mirrors. He didn't actually know what he looked like, but he was afraid to find out. All he needed to focus on was his duties. That was all that mattered, after all, it was the apocalypse. Little things like personal appearance didn't matter.

He just wondered why nobody else would look him in the eyes. He'd seen everyone's faces, of course, but they had never, not once, made eye contact. Except for Nastasia, but she never had a problem making eye contact with anyone. At least, he assumed so. It was kind of hard to tell, with those thick glasses.

He never asked. He just kept doing what he always did. Right before he left the castle to fight the heroes a second time, he glanced at a mirror.

The reflection's eyes had no color.

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Luigi could tell, when the Paper Toad showed off the Copy Block, which one was real. The copies had no free will, they did whatever the real one directed of them. While the real one had brown eyes, the copies' eyes lacked any color at all. It was creepy.

Even the Luiginoids had some sort of life to them. These copies did not. He didn't fault his Paper counterpart for steadfastly refusing to use the block.

Well, until now.

He hadn't actually noticed that it was a copy until he saw the eyes. They lacked color, but everything else that the copy did showed some form of originality. He wasn't quite sure how to breach the topic of where the others were, even Starlow had gone missing. He was glad he didn't actually have to.

"Oh, you're back. So, Boos attacked, they got everyone but me, and I think that's because they didn't know I was here, so yeah, that's a thing."

Luigi blinked a few times. "Can you start over? I think I missed something." The copy sighed.

"Right, let's go from the beginning. My name is Mr. L. I normally live in Paper Luigi's head. The moron, your brother, and the Star Sprite were attacked and taken away by Boos. I have no clue where they are, and I actually don't particularly care, either."

Not for the first time, Luigi wondered if proper application of the Thunderhand could set something on fire. "Did you see which way they went?"

"Somewhere in the woods. I wasn't paying attention, it's not like I care about the moron or anything. I think it was that way, have fun." Luigi's hands began to spark. "I'm your only lead. You won't actually do it."

He wouldn't. But he was sorely tempted.

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Daichi: Yes, this is what happens when Paper Luigi uses the Copy Block. He had good reason for putting it off.


	5. Hammer

Daichi: This takes place really early.

Verity: She doesn't own the things mentioned.

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The others had looked at him strangely when he admitted to never using a hammer in his life. He had avoided mentioning Cudge, as that would bring up memories of his last adventure, and that was the last thing he wanted. Mr. L had agreed, because bringing up that adventure involved bringing up his very existence, and that was something the two of them could actually agree on.

Not just because Paper Luigi didn't want people to know he had a voice in his head, but because Mr. L had very good reasons for not letting anybody else know about his existence. Of course, eventually, he was bound to slip up and say something out loud, and then it would all fall apart. But, for now, the others were blissfully unaware of the other presence in his mind.

Paper Luigi had never used a hammer before because he had never needed one before. Something which, in this strange 3D Mushroom Kingdom, was very much subject to change. With Bowser involved, they would inevitable have to go to the desert, with a large number of sentient cacti.

The perils of living in a world populated by mutant plants.

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Paper Luigi had used to enjoy shopping. Then he met Mr. L. Shopping, from that point on, would turn into a mental argument with a voice that just would not leave. Coming to an agreement had taken a while, and he still had no clue how to use the hammer. He'd have to figure it out as he went along.

 _'You have no idea what you're doing. This is a bad idea.'_ He knew that ignoring Mr. L would not make him go away. He had given up on getting rid of him long ago.

He would still ignore him, of course. Besides, after facing a multiversal apocalypse, how hard could this be?

He would soon realize that asking that question, in any capacity, was quite possibly the worst idea he'd ever had.

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Daichi: As for how he realized that? The same way everyone else does. Things got very difficult afterwards.


	6. Fears

Daichi: This, naturally, takes place after the latter half of Chapter 4.

Verity: She doesn't own these things.

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"Why are we here?" As they exited the woods, Mr. L had just gotten more and more irritable. "I thought you cared about the others. You know, the ones in the other direction."

"I just need three hours, and life will become easier for all of us... except any ghosts we come across." That was interesting. Still, in the back of Mr. L's mind, something pricked at him, telling him to turn around. He kept going. Because he was stubborn like that. In the absence of Paper Luigi, he'd follow his 3D counterpart and make his life hell.

Sometimes, he thought he could use a new purpose in life. Those feelings would immediately be cast aside.

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Meanwhile, in the depths of the forest...

"Big Bro!" He turned to see his little brother, followed by a 3D version of himself and a small yellow ball. The Boos chained them to the tree and left. "This is where you were!"

"Great, at least something good came out of this," the yellow ball remarked. "So this is Paper Mario? Doesn't look like much."

"Starlow, remember what we said on judging by appearances?" The 3D version of him reprimanded the ball.

"Don't do it or get zapped? Luigi's not even here right now! ...Well, at least not the one with the Thunderhand." She shook her foot. "And, either way, it's not like he can find us here! He'll never even get past the Boos!"

"He will." The other Mario stated with certainty.

"How can you be so sure of that?" Paper Luigi asked quietly.

"You see, among the Boos of the Mushroom Kingdom, my brother has a certain reputation..."

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"A vacuum cleaner?" Mr. L was not impressed. In the time that they had been traveling, he had just gotten more and more irritable.

"Not just a vacuum cleaner. This is the Poltergust 5000. One of the only things capable of containing ghosts against their will."

"If it really does that, why was it buried in your closet?"

"I didn't think I would need it! I probably didn't need to actually get it, but it reinforces the image."

"What image? I know that the moron, at least, is afraid of ghosts!" He knew that, only lead or not, this was risky. He was just didn't care about the consequences anymore. And if consequences did arise, he'd try to pass it off as not his fault. Because he was stubborn like that.

Luigi just smiled.

"The image that makes ghosts afraid of me."

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Daichi: Because this is funny. And it accentuates a core difference. Ghosts are scared of Luigi. Paper Luigi is scared of ghosts. It means that it will take more time to save the others, but it will make saving them that much easier.


	7. Practicality

Daichi: Or, why these powers aren't actually available.

Verity: She owns nothing here.

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Luigi glanced first at the trees blocking the path, and then at his brother. "Big bro... what are you doing?"

"Clearing a path."

"Mario, no!" Too late. The forest had already begun to burn around them. Stuffwell took one look at the blaze, and turned to them.

"Well, this is... troubling."

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"That... did not end well."

"How were we supposed to know that the Shroobs have no concept of shock-proofing?"

"I'd just have been fine if we hadn't been trapped for a week..."

"Still better than when he zaps the MechaKoopas. Those just blow up."

"That might have actually been preferable. We had to eat all of our healing supplies."

"Should we return to restock?"

"That would be nice, yes."

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"I'm not sure about this..." Starlow glanced at the Blooper, and then at Luigi, whose hands were already giving off sparks. "I know nothing else you've done has caused any trouble for Bowser, but he's going to start drinking again soon."

The sparks immediately stopped. They did not need to risk frying themselves at this point.

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"So... that was an incredibly ancient spirit, right?"

"He's been around for longer than there were Pi'illos," Dreambert confirmed. "Why do you ask?"

"How had he not thought of the concept of shock-proofing?"

"It was never really that big a deal... we didn't shock-proof much."

Which meant nothing was shock-proofed at all, at least that was left. It was far too easy.

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"So... why didn't you use those powers earlier?" The 3D members of the party glanced at each other.

"They aren't that... practical."

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Daichi: To elaborate, Mario set the trees in front of the Vim Factory on fire, they somehow trapped themselves in a Shroob broom closet, or the equivalent, Luigi nearly electrocuted Bowser, and they made a total mockery of the Dream Stone Spirit's giant mecha... and everything since.


	8. Tailored For the Wrong Party

Daichi: Without Paper Mario's ability to flip… things happen a bit differently. Just a little.

Verity: She doesn't own this franchise, otherwise we likely wouldn't be trapped here.

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The four stared as the Paper Toad sidled through the little crack. Starlow turned to Paper Luigi.

"Well? Why don't you go after them?" Paper Luigi sighed and looked away.

"Some people have the innate ability flip themselves between dimensions like that. Most, like Big Bro, can learn it over time, or from somebody else. And then there's me. I can't flip."

Mario walked up to the crack. "Doesn't heat make things expand? Maybe with enough fire..."  
"Mario, no! Remember, these people are made of paper!" Luigi warned. "Also, I'm not sure, but I don't think it works that way."

"It doesn't." Starlow eyed the rock. "Well, I don't think he'd trust me, and none of us can go through there, so… let's come back later and see if the situation changes?"

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The party glanced over the fence, at all of the Paper Toads who had fallen there when the book opened, and now couldn't get out.

' _We really need to find someone who can flip,'_ Paper Luigi thought to himself.

' _Yes, don't want them hurting themselves in all that empty space. Given that they can't run around everywhere like headless chickens and get lost, probably the best thing for them.'_

Paper Luigi couldn't help but sigh out loud at that. ' _You're really going there?'_

' _I don't like Toads.'_

' _You don't like anybody.'_ Mr. L didn't even try to deny it. The group put rescuing those Paper Toads on their list of things to do later.

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Several times on their journey, they encountered cracks and such that none of them could navigate. And each time, they carefully noted down the location on a list.

When Paper Mario joined the party, they did, eventually, get around to visiting all of the locations on the list.

Eventually.

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Paper Toad had been hiding in his little 2D-accessible enclave for nearly a month when the hero of the Paper Mushroom Kingdom came to find him. He was understandably annoyed that it took so long for someone to find him.

Paper Mario, meanwhile, was wondering why there were so many places only accessible through cracks that only a perfectly flat piece of paper could squeeze through. It made no sense. Not even for the Mushroom Kingdom.

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Daichi: It really doesn't. And, bad Mario, geology does not work like that!


	9. Interactions

Daichi: A return to the misadventures of Luigi and Mr. L. This cannot possibly go badly… for us. They might face a few problems.

Verity: We don't own anything.

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After fetching the Poltergust, the duo made it back to the forest in record time. Which wasn't all that impressive, because nobody ever bothered to keep track, if only partly because very few ever went to that forest unless there was something they could only get there. And even then, most didn't bother, because the majority of the Mushroom Kingdom was mainly populated by Toads, who were never exactly known for their bravery.

Mr. L would claim that as a reason he didn't like Toads, if he'd ever thought to give a reason why he didn't like somebody. He never did, of course, simply claiming to dislike everyone, not that anybody ever listened. He did have reasons to give, though. He kept a list. Paper Mario had wounded his pride, the princesses couldn't seem to stay out of trouble, the Star Sprite was far too chatty…

Luigi, it seemed, lacked the ability to handle sudden shocks. Admittedly, large amounts of fire appearing out of nowhere would startle most anybody, but Mr. L had never cared about little things like common sense. He most certainly wasn't going to admit that it had shocked him, as well.

Mr. L liked to blame his situation on others, but it was hard not to realize that his pride may have had some place in that, as well.

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Luigi took one look at the large purple obstacle course made of fire, and wondered if having the Boos all be terrified of him was as great of an idea as he'd first thought. Certainly, none of them had directly shown up to bother them, but having about five safe points in eighteen feet was not good odds. No matter how good his jump was, he had limits.

Mr. L probably could make it, but his alternate paper self seemed to have decided to make things as difficult as possible. Suddenly he had a very good idea as to why Paper Luigi was prone to rolling his eyes without noticeable provocation.

"Maybe we should go around…" he muttered.

Mr. L groaned. "Don't tell me you're scared of a little fire!" Luigi wondered just how Paper Luigi could put up with him.

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Paper Luigi leaned back against the tree, trying to decide how he felt on the current situation. On one hand, he was surrounded by ghosts and couldn't get away.

On the other hand, he had his actual brother back, and the inside of his head got some peace and quiet for the first time in over a year.

He decided it was a fair trade off. Even if it was a little odd not to hear a mildly irritating voice in reply to his thoughts.

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Daichi: I honestly think that this segment of the adventure will end soon. One more installment, really!

Verity: Until you decide to go back for something you've missed. We've done that before.


End file.
